July Budget 2015: George Osborne announces pay rise for Britons with “national living wage” July 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said he will introduce a compulsory "national living wage" for people aged over 25 as part of his July Budget. Osborne said today that the new "national living wage" will start next April at the rate of £7.20 per hour, before rising to £9 an hour by 2020. He said it means [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne biggest Budget winner as chancellor becomes favourite for next Tory leader July 8, 2015 George Osborne was the biggest winner of today's Budget, becoming the favourite to replace David Cameron as the next Tory leader. Odds on the chancellor becoming the next party leader fell to 5/2, overtaking London mayor Boris Johnson on the list of potential contenders, according to Ladbrokes. Read more: The Budget as it happened – [...]
July Budget 2015: From a new living wage to cutting the bank levy, the key policies that will affect UK businesses July 8, 2015 Today was Britain's first Conservative-only Budget in almost 20 years, and in it chancellor George Osborne revealed a series of policy changes that will affect UK companies Here are the key announcements he made in the business-friendly budget, and what they mean for the UK's companies. Cut to corporation tax The amount of corporation [...]
July Budget 2015: Northern Powerhouse boost as George Osborne promises “seamless Oyster-style” ticket system for travel across region July 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne promised to put the “power into the Northern Powerhouse” as he presented his Summer Budget today, presenting a promise that is sure to cheer commuters. Train travel in the north of England is about to get a “seamless Oyster-style” ticketing system across the region (and yes, pun-happy tweeters have already coined the [...]
July Budget 2015: Buy-to-let landlords hit as George Osborne restricts mortgage tax relief and hikes rent a room allowance July 8, 2015 George Osborne has cut mortgage interest relief on buy-to-let homes, in an effort to create a "level playing field" between prospective landlords and those buying their homes to live in. Read more: Chancellor slashes corporation tax and bank levy The chancellor said the relief will be cut to the basic rate of income tax, which [...]
Summer Budget 2015: Barclays, HSBC, RBS share prices rise as Osborne reveals levy will be ditched July 8, 2015 Banks share prices lifted this afternoon as George Obsorne confirmed the levy would be phased out over the next six years. In a move widely seen as looking to sway HSBC, Standard Chartered et al from leaving the UK, Osborne's first all-Tory Budget confirmed that the levy would be cut gradually until 2022. Instead [...]
July Budget 2015: Odds on George Osborne to talk Greece, BBC, Long Term Economic Plan… and maybe some Balls July 8, 2015 Will George Osborne be talking Balls in the Budget? Ed Balls that it is. The chancellor name-checking the ousted MP and former shadow chancellor in his Budget address is a 10/1 bet. It's more likely Osborne will give a mention to #MinisterOfAwesome Yanis Varoufakis at 5/1, while Greece is the word topping the Budget buzzword [...]
Antony Jenkins fired from Barclays: Here’s what people are making of it July 8, 2015 It might not be the best day for Antony Jenkins, but Barclays investors seem pretty happy with the news that he's been ousted. Barclays share price leapt 2.7 per cent at the open, rising to 3.2 per cent in mid-morning trading, comfortably leading the FTSE 100. The board has praised Jenkins for his work [...]
Nigel Farage: “There is a new Berlin Wall and it is called the euro” July 8, 2015 Ukip leader Nigel Farage has launched another scathing attack on the European Union and its leaders as he stood up to speak at the European Parliament during a session on the Greek crisis talks. The European project has started to die. The plan has failed. The whole of the Mediterranean finds itself in the wrong [...]
Barack Obama makes personal intervention in Greek crisis talks July 8, 2015 With Greece given five days to reach an agreement ahead of an emergency summit attended by all 28 EU member states, President Barack Obama has made his first personal intervention in the crisis in months. Obama spoke to both Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the leaders gathered in Brussels. [...]